Devices for simultaneous detection of a plurality of spectral regions have been known from practice for a considerable time, specifically under the designation of “multiband detector.” These are complicated optical arrangements which permit multiple focusing with the aid of additional optical systems. Such arrangements require a very considerable space for spectral multiband detection, and therefore entail a not inconsiderable overall size. Moreover, a defocusing effect regularly occurs there, thus entailing the need for permanent refocusing with the aid of the additional optical system—referred to the respective spectral region. These devices are principally used in confocal scanning microscopy (see in this regard: DE 199 02 625.4 and DE 43 30 447).
Color filters which permit detection of a plurality of wavelengths are likewise used in the prior art, DE 198 35 070, for analyzing the light emanating from the sample. In this case, the sample is illuminated with the aid of a laser via a scanning device using reflected light.
It is not possible using the prior art described above in conjunction with two-dimensional illumination to take sample data from a sample under study using reflected light or transmitted light in arbitrary spectral regions, in particular not simultaneously in a plurality of spectral regions.